In 2020, GreenSPACE held a calling party where the team spent a week researching the implications of Scot Morrison’s gas-fuelled ‘recovery’ plan and wrote a script, agenda and a list of MPs and Senators all over the country. They held events to teach their peers about the issue, and together, call their MPs with their opposition to the gas plan. In addition to this, our team wrote an Open Letter to Parliament whereby through a series of engagement activities, a single-page open letter with academics’ signatures, chancellery and other faculties and departments of the University got involved to call upon the Government to take action on climate change. Statements included the severe devastation that climate change causes, how the economy would retract under this global disaster and how new opportunities in funding, renewables and jobs could be a new way forward. The letter also included a focus on a sustainable future where renewables are the key source of our energy production. Our team also organised a series of virtual workshops for the department that ran for an hour every Tuesday afternoon, once a fortnight in October and one was centred around climate change and a Climate Reality presentation given by our team member Camilla.

These initiatives engaged our department and wider Green Impact team members to not only get on board with Climate Activism but also to empower individuals to make a positive change. They also taught people about the importance of getting involved with and learning about politics and ensuring that we stand up for what is right. People within our department also learnt about climate change and how it is very little in the political space that is being done around this in Australia. This also empowered our staff members to get involved with sustainability more around their homes and when they return to the campus.